1,100-HP McLaren 765LT Spider Drops Below Nine Seconds Over a Quarter Mile at 158 Mph

Leave it to the Americans to take something from Great Britain and make it genuinely Great. You know – the AC Cobra, the United States, or the imperial units system. This last bit is crucial to the automobile universe. There is no faster way to settle a car performance debate than by the quarter-mile arrow-straight race.

However, McLaren is unquestionably an already high-performing product of motor engineering. Very few consider the possibility of improving its performance. At nearly half a million dollars, the 765LT Spider is not exactly the most sought-after aftermarket tuning test mule.

Still, a gearhead from Florida, going by the social media persona of AntiochExotics, deemed it doable and took one of the 765 units of the 765LT model to his local speed shop. The goal is self-explanatory: "we look to take the record (the fastest McLaren 765LT Spider in the quarter mile) and have it."

It turns out the wrench-turning wizards know how to work their horsepower magic to perfection. The outcome of their stardust witchcraft is an under-nine-second car. In piston-worshipping parlance, it can hail down the dragstrip in under nine seconds over one statute quarter mile.

8.997 seconds, to be race-level accurate, in hot Florida weather, at 158.45 mph (254.946 kph). The temperature and humidity at the Bradenton Motorsports Park worked against the twin-turbocharged V8 in this McLaren, but it still put on a record-setting performance. It’s the fastest 765LT Spider on the 440-yard speed trial.

With a “turbo upgrade, unobtanium Inconel downpipes, turbo inlets, and tuned on 104 octane race gas,” to cite the owner of this high-speed drag racer, the specs are pushing hypercar boundaries. This vehicle was dyno-tested in February, and the results – shown in the second video – are not bad at all.

A stock McLaren 765LT Spider relies on 765 PS and 800 Nm of torque (755 hp / 590 lb-ft). Impressive numbers that allow it to reach 62 mph/100 kph in 2.8 seconds after a standing start. 124 mph/200 kph is achieved in 7.2 seconds.

This particular 765 LT, however, puts out 1,079 hp and 724 lb-ft (1,094 ps and 982 Nm). Apart from the already-mentioned record scores, this road-legal fighter jet raised the bar for all McLarens. The already rapid car is seriously quicker and faster than its factory siblings. It cleared the eighth-mile distance in 5.9 seconds at 127.16 mph/204.6 kph.

The official (manufacturer-stated) standing quarter time for the stock 765 Longtail (that’s what the LT stands for) is ten seconds flat. The new Florida-set record is one second below that British-proclaimed GPA, and it could get even lower if more performance-prone weather is available.

By the way, the name Longtail is not just McLaren’s synonym for “ultimate performance”; it is also an obligation for every car that bears these two LeTers. The nameplate first appeared on another legendary McLaren – the Gordon Murray-blessed F1. The 1997 McLaren F1 GTR Longtail won the GT Championship taking five wins in eleven races – including a 1-2 podium with a 30-lap gap over its GT-class rivals at Le Mans.